


In Which Lance is an Idiot, and Keith Totally Doesn't Cry

by KalesMcD4407



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is a total Mom™, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Keith likes to swear, Lance breaks his fuccin legs, Lance doesn't like it, M/M, Pidge thinks this is great lmao, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8399743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KalesMcD4407/pseuds/KalesMcD4407
Summary: He didn’t know how Lance ended up in his arms, but somehow, it happened. Keith was on his knees and had pulled Lance up to rest on him. Something hot and sticky was all over the back of Lance’s head. He must have hit his head too, either while falling or passing out. 
 
“Lance? Can you hear me?” Keith desperately searched for some sign that the other boy would be okay. Also… That was weird. Was he… Crying? No way. No fucking way was he going to cry because of Lance. But if Lance wasn’t the reason he was crying, then what was? 
---------------
Basically Lance likes to wander the castle, and he gets hurt. Keith goes looking for him and realizes some things. And he TOTALLY doesn't cry.





	

Free time was very rare when you were a paladin of Voltron. Defending the universe was no small chore, and took up a great amount of time. But sometimes, the paladins were given a day off so that they could recharge and get their energy back. On days like this, Lance like to spend his time wandering the castle. The thing was enormous, and he was pretty sure he hadn’t seen at least half of it yet.

 

Lance liked exploring the castle. It reminded him of the adventures he went on as a little kid. He was always giving his mother heart attacks, running off out of her sight.

 

Thinking about home made his heart ache. His mother was so far away, and she had no idea where he was. She probably thought Lance was dead. He hadn’t exactly had the chance to notify anyone where he was going when he disappeared off the face of the planet. 

 

Lance usually tried to stop his thoughts from wandering down this path, but sometimes it was out of his control. He had never told any of the others, but he really missed home. He missed his mother, his brothers, and his sisters. He missed his tía and his tío and his many cousins. He missed Earth. 

 

Lance turned a corner, lost in his thoughts. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed the walkway in front of him. And if he had noticed the walkway, he probably wouldn’t have fallen off of it. 

 

He landed with a sickening crunch, a burning pain shooting through his legs. An agonized cry tore it’s way from his throat. He looked around frantically trying to get a grasp on his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a room on a lower floor. The walkway that he had fallen off of stretched across the hallway above him, leading further into the castle. Nobody had bothered to come to this part of the castle in over 10000 years. Lance was going to have to deal with this on his own. 

 

Lance knew something was wrong when he wasn’t able to stand up. Trying only served to send a sharp pain through his legs, eliciting a strangled cry from him.Panic surged within him. “SOMEONE, HELP!” he cried in desperation. He knew nobody could hear him, but what else was he supposed to do?

 

A sob ripped its way out of his body, and tears streamed freely down his face. He gathered up the courage to examine his legs. The sight of them visibly broken and lying at unnatural angles was the last straw for Lance. He blacked out and his head smashed against the metal floor, creating a loud thud that nobody was around to hear. 

 

By dinner time, only one person seemed to notice Lance’s absence in the dining room. As everyone made casual conversation and munched on their space goo, Keith’s gaze was constantly flickering from the door to the seat that Lance usually occupied, his face set in a deep scowl.  
“Have any of you seen Lance today?” he asked the others, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his gut. Lance was never one to skip meals. 

 

Allura frowned in concentration, trying to remember. “No, haven’t seen Lance since breakfast, actually.”

 

“Oh! I saw him earlier,” exclaimed Hunk through a mouthful of goo. “He said he was gonna explore the castle. He probably lost track of time.”

 

This seemed to be a good enough explanation for everyone else, but Keith wasn’t satisfied. “Guys, the castle is really big. What if he got lost or something?” he pressed.

 

“Why do you care so much suddenly?” teased Pidge. Keith flushed bright crimson, and everyone around the table snickered into their food. “Who said I care? I don’t! Sorry I said anything,” he spat, pushing away from the table and storming out of the room. 

 

Keith didn’t know what to do with himself, so he found himself wandering the halls without an exact purpose in mind. About 15 minutes passed, and he realized that part of him was searching for Lance. The mere idea that he would spend his time looking for Lance annoyed him beyond belief. Why should he care about where that dunderhead was?

 

Yet he still couldn’t shake the feeling of worry. What if Lance was hurt? He was a clumsy idiot after all. Who the hell decided it was okay for him to wander the castle alone? And more importantly, why did it matter to him so much? 

 

He rounded yet another corner, officially journeying deeper into the castle than he had before. Keith couldn’t see the appeal of wandering the castle all alone. The place was kind of creepy, but he could understand why Lance liked exploring it so much. He was a fucking weirdo. 

 

Yet all the strange and somewhat annoying qualities Lance possessed seemed to suit him very well. They were almost… Endearing? Keith shook the uninvited thought out of his head. What was wrong with him? 

 

He turned yet another corner and noticed that this particular stretch of hallway was only passable via a thin walkway. “We should really install some railings here,” he muttered. “Some idiot could turn this corner without watching where they were going and seriously hurt themself.” 

 

That’s when he heard it. From somewhere down beneath him came the faintest of groans, so quiet that Keith wasn’t certain he had heard anything at all. Either way, it was enough to prompt him to look down into the room below him. Lying on the floor was Lance, who was passed out with his legs at unnatural angles. 

 

Fear gripped Keith like a vice, and his eyes widened as he looked at the scene below him. He had been right to worry about Lance, he was obviously seriously hurt. 

 

He looked around desperately, searching for the quickest way to get down to Lance to help him. There didn’t appear to be any safe way down, so he would have to improvise. He slowly eased himself down from the ledge until he was hanging off it, then he let go. 

 

He landed on his feet, pain coursing through him. He was completely unconcerned over this though, as all that mattered was getting to Lance’s side. 

 

He didn’t know how Lance ended up in his arms, but somehow, it happened. Keith was on his knees and had pulled Lance up to rest on him. Something hot and sticky was all over the back of Lance’s head. He must have hit his head too, either while falling or passing out. 

 

“Lance? Can you hear me?” Keith desperately searched for some sign that the other boy would be okay. Also… That was weird. Was he… Crying? No way. No fucking way was he going to cry because of Lance. But if Lance wasn’t the reason he was crying, then what was? 

 

A faint sound came from the boy Keith was clutching in his arms, making him jump. “Lance?!?” “Keith? Is that you?” muttered Lance, almost inaudibly. 

 

Keith was so relieved to hear Lance’s voice that he almost laughed. “What the fuck happened to you, Lance?” he asked, shaking his head. “Fell. Watch your mouth,” muttered the boy, looking as if he was going to fall asleep. 

 

Unbelievable. Was Lance seriously worrying about Keith’s language issues at a time like this? He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh, cry, punch him or kiss him. Wait. What? Why would he kiss him? He pushed the thought from his mind. 

 

“Everything hurts, Keith,” whimpered Lance. Keith could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces seeing him like this. “It’s gonna be okay, Lance,” whispered Keith. “Let’s get you out of here.” 

 

Keith scooped Lance up in his arms as gently as possible. “Let’s get you to Allura and Coran. They can help you.” “Okay Keith. Wait… Are you crying?”

 

“Of course not. Why would I be crying? Whatever, let’s just get out of here,” grunted Keith. He couldn’t believe that even now Lance was taking opportunities to mock him. But he was right. Keith was indeed crying, and he was starting to get an idea why he was so upset by all this, even if he didn’t want to. 

 

Seeing Lance like this, seriously hurt and vulnerable…. It scared the living shit out of Keith. He never ever wanted to see him like this again. Yet even in this state Lance was still himself, teasing Keith for crying him and scolding him when he swore. Somehow, Keith found all of this endearing. And so he reached a conclusion. It was possible that Keith may be in love with Lance.   
The mere thought felt ridiculous. And more importantly, this was not the time for Keith to be thinking about this. His priority was bringing Lance to get medical attention. Whatever the hell he was feeling, he could deal with later. 

 

The trek back to the main area of the castle was a long one, and it was silent save for an occasional yelp of pain from Lance. Each time this happened Keith winced as if it were him enduring the pain. He hated this, and Lance didn’t look like he could take much more. 

 

Keith rounded one more corner and almost collided with Allura. The princess gasped in horror as she took in the sight of Keith holding a barely conscious Lance. 

 

“Keith! How did this happen?” she gasped, already motioning for Keith to follow her to the healing pods. “He fell,” grunted Keith, very aware that Allura could tell he had been crying. 

 

Together, Allura and Keith put Lance into one of the healing pods, and Allura started it up. “His legs are badly broken, so he’ll need to spend a few days in there. I imagine he also has a concussion. It’s good that you went to look for him, Keith.” She smiled warmly at him. “Now, what I would like to know is if YOU are okay.”

 

“Of course I’m okay. I’m not the one who got hurt, Allura.” mumbled Keith. She placed a hand on his shoulder gently and gave him a knowing look. “You’re obviously upset, Keith. I can see that you were crying. Why?” she pressed. 

 

Shit. He wasn’t getting out of this one, was he? Allura was going to keep pushing until he opened up, and this was a game that she was much better at than he was. If he was going to lose anyways, he might as well just surrender. 

 

“It was really scary seeing Lance like that. You don’t know what he looked like when I found him. It looked like he was dead, Allura. I don’t know what I… I mean, we would do if we lost Lance.” Saying all of that bought tears to Keith eyes again, and he cursed himself internally for allowing his emotions to show in front of Allura. He wiped his eyes quickly.

 

“It’s okay to be upset about this, Keith,” said Allura. She lowered her voice and continued “I have a feeling that you’ve been hiding how much you really care about Lance.”

 

Keith glared at her, but his expression quickly softened. “I don’t know why I suddenly feel like this. It’s embarrassing, Allura,” he admitted defeatedly. 

 

“Keith, I don’t know where you developed the notion that anything about the way you feel is embarrassing. And I don’t think these feelings are new. I think you’re just now beginning to understand them. You have a few days to think about it, but if you want my advice, I’d tell Lance about how you feel.” Allura gave Keith a small smile. “Everything will turn out okay in the end.”

 

Keith spent most of the next few days either in his room, or watching over Lance. He would have liked to stay with Lance the whole time, but he knew the other paladins would find that suspicious. So he wandered back and forth between the two places. Sometimes his watch over Lance would be accompanied by Shiro, who tried and failed to get Keith to talk, or Allura who was perfectly okay with sitting in silence. 

 

Towards the end of the second day, Lance stumbled out of the pod, startling Keith and Allura, who had been watching him in silence. “Lance!” they exclaimed in unison, jumping to their feet.”

 

“How do you feel? Are your legs still sore?” fretted Allura, already examining him.  
“I’m fine,” replied Lance, who was staring at Keith. He was a lot calmer than normal. For one, it was amazing that he wasn’t using this as an opportunity to flirt with Allura. And the way he was examining Keith was completely foreign. It made Keith shiver for reasons he didn’t quite understand. 

 

The moment passed quickly, and Lance became his usual self again as if someone had flipped a switch. “So. I’m assuming everyone missed me? I know I’m everyone’s favourite,” he smirked. Keith rolled his eyes so hard he was surprised they didn’t fall out. “Someone’s full of himself,” he commented. 

 

Allura looked between the two of them, and winked almost imperceptibly at Keith. “I think Coran needs me… I’ve gotta go,” she said. She breezed out of the room quickly, leaving the two paladins on their own. There was a very awkward silence, both boys wondered who was going to break it. 

 

Predictably, it was Lance who spoke first. “You came looking for me. Am I that special to you, Keith?” he teased. “All the paladins are important to me,” Keith replied gruffly. 

 

“Important enough to make you cry???” Lance snickered. “I get it. I’m super awesome and probably your favourite person in the group.” 

 

“I didn’t cry!” lied Keith indignantly. “Yeah, you did. I was there, you know.” “You were almost passed out! How do you know that you didn’t imagine it?” “No, I was wide awake man. You cried, and swore a lot. You really need to control the potty mouth dude. It’s not cool.”

 

Keith groaned in frustration. “Lance, you are so FUCKING annoying!” he yelled. “See? That right there. That’s what I’m talking abo-” Lance was suddenly cut off by Keith slamming his lips onto his.

 

Lance froze up in shock. He didn’t know what he was expecting from Keith, but this certainly wasn’t it. Before he could even fully process what happened, Keith pulled away blushing. “I’m sorry… I’ll just go,” he muttered

 

He turned to leave, but Lance grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. “No… Don’t go! You just surprised me… I was not expecting that,” he laughed nervously. Keith was beet red, staring at the floor like he wished it would open up and swallow him whole. 

 

Lance’s mind was still reeling from the brief kiss, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. He had been thinking about what it would be like to kiss Keith for a while. Not that he would ever admit it. He had always thought that Keith didn’t like him though. That is, until he found him the other day. And cried over him. Still, he would have never expected this. But now that he had a taste of what it was like, he wanted more. 

 

This time, it was Lance who initiated the kiss. Before he had time to think about it he captured Keith’s lips with his own, lacing his fingers through that stupidly soft mullet of his. Keith squeaked in shock, but allowed himself to melt into the kiss, bringing a hand up to rest on Lance’s neck. 

 

The two of them would have liked to stay like that for a while. And they probably would have, if Shiro and Pidge hadn’t chose that exact moment to walk in the room. 

 

“NO WAY!” gasped Pidge, and the two boys flew apart faster than lightning, both of them tomato red. Pidge seemed elated to have found the two of them in such a compromising position. Shiro however seemed almost as embarrassed as they were. “Uh… sorry,” he said, blushing. “We were just coming to check on Lance… We’ll leave. Sorry”

 

He grabbed onto Pidge’s arm and steered them out of the room. “This is great! Wait until I tell Hunk!” they cackled as Shiro pulled them away.

 

“Fuck,” muttered Keith, still bright red. “Didn’t I tell you to watch your mouth?” asked Lance, the blush slowly leaving his face. Keith raised his eyebrows. “You’re ridiculous, Lance.”  
“That may be so,” agreed Lance. “But you’re the weirdo who likes me.” Keith shook his head incredulously. “I can’t believe you, man,” he laughed. But as Lance pressed his lips to his again, he couldn’t help but agree with him.


End file.
